what is your substance, whereof are you made?
by mnemosyne-musings
Summary: A throwaway comment from River on a family outing leads Rory to speculate who she is...


It was supposed to be just an ordinary family outing. Well, not that Amy, Rory and the Doctor were aware that it was a _family _trip per se. It was still far too early for that River thought with a sigh.

Still, it was supposed to have been a simple sightseeing trip to the underwater caves on Hexos. They were only accessible every thirty-seven years when the three moons aligned in orbit to produce a very low tide. There was then a two-hour window where you could enter the cave system safely and see the huge stalactite formations.

That had been the plan anyway. Unfortunately, their timing had been slightly off and the tide had started to rise alarmingly quickly in the caves before they were safely out resulting in a slightly panicked dash through the water.

They had almost been trapped in the final cave and the water had been lapping around their shoulders by the they had reached the ladder that led them to safety. She had then dived back in the water to retrieve Rory's ring that had fallen off and had just made it back up the ladder before the cave totally filled with water.

So much for an uneventful sightseeing trip! Now they were back in the Tardis and she'd finally got the smell of cave out of her hair. Her parents had disappeared to shower and change as soon as they'd stumbled gratefully back through the doors.

She'd made a suggestive comment about baths and getting warmed up to the Doctor but he hadn't taken the hint and had wandered off on his own to

change. Clearly still early days she thought wistfully. Shame really as she'd caught him definitely ogling the way her drenched clothing clung to her as they climbed out the caves.

Wandering back through the corridor, she caught the scent of hot chocolate along with muffled voices drifting back down from the console room and smiled appreciatively.

Hot chocolate and an evening in with her parents and husband, well that probably wasn't such a terrible ending to the day. Just as she was about to turn the corner into the console room however, she paused as she caught her name.

"Err Doctor, can I ask you something?" Rory's voice floated up to her, sounding slightly hesitant.

"Look, I know the timing wasn't quite spot on but I think I've worked out what went wrong."

"No, it wasn't that. It was something… I wanted to ask something about River?"

"What about her?" the Doctor muttered distractedly "Hmmm, no, that's not right is it. Can you pass me that pair of pliers?"

"It's just… is she… I mean… is she human or…or…"

Gasping softly, River quickly covered her mouth with a hand and moved to peer around the corner of the doorway. The Doctor was fiddling with something on the console panels and not paying attention while her parents were leaning against the railing.

"Or what?" Amy interrupted with a laugh "An alien!? Course she's human you numpty."

"Well it's just…"

"Just what?" Amy prompted disbelievingly.

"Just something she said, back in the caves" Rory explained haltingly as River quickly wracked her brain to earlier that evening to what she might have said to raise his suspicions "When we were left in that final cave. I dropped my wedding ring in the water and…OW!" he broke off as Amy smacked him on the arm.

"I told you to have that ring adjusted!" she glared at him as he rubbed his arm balefully.

"Well we've been busy!" he protested "The whole, space-time travelling thing. Anyway, I was going to dive under to find it but River stopped me and did it herself. Said something about human lung capacity and breathing or something."

Grimacing, River cursed herself silently. She'd made the comment glibly at the time and had hoped her father either wouldn't remember or would be too busy escaping the rising water levels to notice.

"So, Doctor? Is she?"

"Is she what?" the Doctor was still frowning at one of the controls and poking it randomly with the pair of pliers.

"Is River human?" Rory repeated with a slight sigh of exasperation.

"Human? Dunno, she doesn't taste human" he muttered speculatively, peering at one of the loose ends of wire "Ahh I think that might be it, could you pass me that sealant by the chair?" he added, waving in the direction of the jumpseat.

"Umm, excuse me?!" Amy spluttered.

"The sealant Pond" the Doctor repeated with a touch of irritation as he tried to pinch the two ends of the loose wire together "Quickly, it's the grey tube over there."

"Not that!" Amy exclaimed, ignoring his request "What do you mean? River doesn't _taste _human?"

Whipping his head up suddenly, the Doctor looked up in panic at Amy and then back to Rory. "Oh… ummm… no, I mean…well we…"

"You've what Doctor?" Amy broke in teasingly as he tried to stammer out a reply "Just how have you been _tasting _River?!"

Oh gods mother please stop talking, River thought silently as she covered her face with her hands and watched through her fingers as the Doctor turned bright red and gaped silently back at Amy, dropping the wires that he'd been holding which sent a shower of sparks all over the console.

"No, Pond!" he finally managed to squeal, his voice at least two octaves higher than usual "We just… just kiss goodbye when I drop her off at Stormcage. As friends" he added desperately, looking back and forth between Amy and Rory "Friends who kiss. That's a thing yes."

"Ha I knew it!" Amy exclaimed delightedly, pointing gleefully at him "You've been snogging River behind our backs! Well it was about time Raggedy Man!"

Deciding to try and stop the Doctor spontaneously combusting from embarrassment, River cleared her throat loudly from the top of the stairs, watching in amusement as all three of them looked up slightly guiltily at her.

"Talking about me sweetie?" she laughed "I thought I felt my ears burning."

"No…we…"

"Actually Rory and I were just saying it's been a long day and we probably need a nap" Amy suddenly interrupted the Doctor's spluttering and, grabbing Rory by the arm, dragged him up the stairs, winking at River as they passed her "A really _long _nap I think!"

Grinning back at Amy, River made her way slowly down the stairs and over to the Doctor who was now fiddling with the console again and studiously avoiding her gaze. Walking up to him, she cautiously reached out with one hand and walked her fingers gently up his jacket lapel.

"So Doctor" she murmured softly, smiling up at him as he turned back to face her "Not quite as early days as I thought then."

"Well, you know. I didn't like to presume" the Doctor mumbled, a faint blush still staining his cheeks as she reached up to straighten his bowtie "With us…" he continued as she quirked an eyebrow at him in amusement "That we can… I can…" he trailed off awkwardly, gesturing between them.

Rolling her eyes at him, River suddenly grasped his lapels and pulled him down towards her. Pausing with her lips a mere inch away from his, she whispered

"Oh sweetie. With me you can presume all you like" before closing the distance between them and kissing him soundly.


End file.
